Enduring By His Wondrous Grace

"God has fastened you to a cross. Now, can you do this? Find your comfort in the very One who holds you fastened to that cross. He will loose you when He sees fit. Seek the Lord as your strength, the strength to endure as much and as long as He has measured out for you. Happy are those who suffer with Him." ~ Brother Lawrence
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Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, Who daily bears our burdens. ~ Psalm 68:19
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"I want Thy will, O Lord, yet faith is put to shame; I fear my wishes and Thy will may not be quite the same. Oh, Lord, I cannot be submitted, sweet, and still when I reserve within my heart, my wishes above Thy will. Take from this heart of mine such lack of trust in Thee; teach me to know, with all my heart Thy will is best for me. I want Thy will, O Lord, no matter what it be; I would not choose my path alone - Thy will is best for me!" ~ Mrs. A. Miller
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Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ~ Luke 6:21
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Who shall seperate us from the love of Christ? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 8:35,37-39
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Often the present struggles we are facing weigh our hearts down so much that we fail to see the goodness of our Lord through it all. He desires more than anything for His children to hunger after His way - He longs to satisfy our souls with the sweet comfort that only His love can impart! "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." The Master will not withhold trials and heartache, allowing us to live as infants, unaware of the amazing peace and joy that come from walking in His way. Troubles and sorrow provide an opportunity for us to experience anew the awesomeness of His strength being made perfect through our weakness. Being led by the Father's hand, we shall look back one day and laugh for joy, declaring with all our hearts, "His grace is sufficient for me." Faithful unto His own, the God of all comfort, showing compassion and love to all generations, Keeper of our hearts, Lover of our souls, the Great Shepherd... our Father! Dear friends, may we ever strive to follow in His steps, learning to love Him more and more.

In His name,
Ashley Louise

Random Pictures from Recent Times

Jenny and our cousin Kelsey had a fun time playing spa the other day...
... and they even cleaned up when they were all done! Such sweet girls they are : )

Stephanie at school with her teacher, whom she absolutely adores

The Vicious Pillow Fighter

Um, yes, that's me... it was the day to end all days in math class.
A couple of tuckered out young'uns

Play-Doh creations by Josh

Stephanie's Birthday!

Little John

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." ~ Zephaniah 3:17
Oldest and youngest of the 20 cousins
His first "real food" experience!
Baby's delight
Learning to fly with Daddy

Hellooo Big Eyes!
Sweet slumber
"The Paci Contraption"
Oh yeah, he's a chin-sucker... he takes after his big sissy. ; )Just hangin' out